Paymob Raises $22 Million to Expand in Egypt and GCC Countries

Financial services enabler Paymob raised another $22 million to expand its offering in its core market of Egypt and its newer markets in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The $22 million Series B extension round follows a $50 million initial Series B funding round in 2022, bringing Paymob’s total Series B funding to $72 million, the company said in a Wednesday (Sept. 11) press release.

“We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt — where we hold a market-leading position — and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there,” Paymob co-founder and CEO Islam Shawky said in the release. “This funding will help Paymob fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC rollout.”

Founded in 2015, Paymob received the Central Bank of Egypt’s Payments Facilitator license in 2018, Saudi Payments PTSP certification in May 2023, and Oman’s PSP license in December 2023, according to the release. The firm also launched in the UAE in 2022.

In the time since its initial Series B round in 2022, Paymob launched its app, grew its merchant base across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by 3.5 times to serve nearly 350,000 merchants, and grew its acceptance suite to 50 payment methods delivered via its gateway, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and app, the release said.

In addition, the firm launched embedded checkout experiences on Shopify and WooCommerce, per the release.

Paymob’s Series B extension round was led by EBRD Venture Capital, per the release.

“The payments landscape in Egypt and the broader MENA region is hugely exciting and is seeing rapid growth as economies transition to noncash payment methods,” Bruno Lusic of EBRD Venture Capital said in the release. “We are convinced that Paymob is uniquely positioned to capitalize on that trend with its advanced technology and strong management team.”

Paymob is working to solve the imbalance between payment issuance and acceptance in emerging markets, which is a challenge that is holding back businesses from unlocking their full potential, Shawky told PYMNTS in an interview posted in February 2023.

“We’re looking at markets that are very advanced in issuance but have a mismatch in acceptance,” Shawky said.